InnerspaceVR’s 2019 virtual reality (VR) title A Fisherman’s Tale was one of the most unique puzzlers to appear that year and it looks like the studio will achieve that accolade in 2021 with Maskmaker. The team recently unveiled new details about the gameplay alongside and trailer and confirmed release date.
With Maskmaker, InnerspaceVR is certainly going bigger and bolder than before, stretching those puzzle muscles to new heights. As the name suggests, gameplay revolves around making masks which are crucial to exploration within various biomes. From the looks of it, Maskmaker split between to areas, the main workshop which is a sandbox area to build your masks and the outside world.
You make the masks by finding blueprints, often by scanning inhabitants in the eight biomes. In the workshop, you can then carve the base masks out of wood before using paints to give them some colour. The masks can then be further lavished with shells, feathers, flowers and other items specific to each region. Making inhabitants masks is highly important as once you make and don the mask you inhabit their body, thus allowing you to reach new areas and solve environmental puzzles.
The gameplay is such that you can jump about between locations as you search for more adornments, providing a non-linear experience you explore as you see fit. There is still an end goal as the story revolves around you being the Maskmakers apprentice, eventually becoming an official Maskmaker in your own right whilst learning the truth behind your teacher’s identity. As VRFocus learnt in a previous interview, this means you can then design your own mask.
Along the way, you’ll also have to find magical statues which will help to unlock new areas, whilst the maskmaker (called Prospero) narrates. InnerspaceVR estimates a run time of around 5-6 hours for the story, although the sandbox workshop can extend that.
InnerspaceVR and MWMi will release Maskmaker for PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Oculus Rift (Oculus Quest is compatible via Link cable) on 20th April 2021. It’ll include full English and French audio as well as English, French, and German subtitles. For further updates on the puzzle adventure, keep reading VRFocus.